


Liar (It Takes One To Know One) ON HIATUS

by casketdream



Category: Cow Chop, The Creatures
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, Physical Abuse, Possible slow updates because i have exams coming up soon, aleks doesnt have a good home life, i apologise in advance for this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-09-28 06:18:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10076705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/casketdream/pseuds/casketdream
Summary: Aleks is a nerd that just wants to make it through high school alive and James is a popular jock.





	1. I

James' POV

I walked through the halls of my high school, hands stuffed in the pockets of my letterman jacket and a wide grin across my face. After spotting my friend Seamus at his locker, I started to make my way towards him. 

Once I was behind him, I gripped his sides, causing him to jump and drop his books. The blond turned around angrily, his mouth opened in preparation to throw out an insult but once he saw it was me he just looked unimpressed. 

"Asshole." Seamus said, deadpan.

"Love you too, pretty boy." I smiled. "You feeling better now?" I asked, genuinely concerned. 

"Yeah, I just felt a bit off yesterday. You know how it is." He said, brushing it off. I nodded, knowing exactly what he was going through. 

"Hey Seamus, here's the notes from yesterday's Biology class. I'm glad you're feeling better." A soft voice spoke, interrupting mine and Seamus' conversation. 

Seamus turned to look at the boy, my eyes falling to him too. His hair fell down past his ears, falling slightly in front of his brown eyes. The boy was wearing a Machinima t-shirt and black skinny jeans that outlined his legs perfectly. 

"Thanks Aleks, hope you didn't miss me too much." Seamus spoke playfully. The boy, Aleks, let out a chuckle. 

"Hate to break it to you, but I barely noticed you were gone until you blew up my phone with messages." He smirked before his eyes landed on me and it dimmed slightly. "I'll see you around, Seamus." 

He turned and walked away, my eyes trailing down his body before I snapped out of it and punched Seamus on the arm. 

"Ow, what the fuck was that for?" Seamus said, rubbing his arm. 

"Why didn't you introduce me to your friend? That's bad manners Seamus." I tutted at him. "What would your mother say?" 

"You didn't have to punch me that hard." Seamus glared. "He doesn't even like you dude, rolls his eyes every time I mention you." He shrugged nonchalantly. 

The bell rang, causing Seamus to pat my shoulder and mutter a 'I'll see you at lunch'. I stayed leaning against the lockers, a frown on my face at the thought of some boy I've never met not liking me. Sighing, I pushed off from the locker and made my way to my first class. 

Time passes by quickly, my mind being preoccupied with thoughts of Aleks.

Why didn't he like me? It's not like I wasn't a nice person, I made it a point to be polite to anyone that spoke to me. Sure I had gotten around with a few girls but that was before summer, he wouldn't care about that, right?

I rolled my eyes at my thoughts, clearing my head and remembering that I had to go talk to my coach about the team. Once the bell rang I stood up, walking out the classroom with a slight frown. 

As I walked into the locker room I saw Aleks shoving something into his backpack with one hand. His other arm was hugging his stomach, clutching his side. 

"Hey. Aleks, right?" I asked innocently, smiling at him once he turned around. 

"Yeah." He said, dropping his arm and picking up his bag. We stood in silence for a few seconds before he spoke again. "I'm gonna leave now." 

I stepped in his way, blocking the exit and glaring at him slightly. My eyes scanned over his face, ignoring the bored and annoyed expression on it. The corner of my lips turned up slightly, appreciating the view. 

"You're beautiful." I said, smirking at him. That was usually all I needed to say if I wanted to get laid, chicks loved it so I'm guessing Aleks would too. 

"You think I need you to tell me that?" He snapped, an eyebrow quirking up in question. The smirk immediately fell from my face. "Now would you move out of the way, I have shit to do." 

With that he brushed past me, making it a point to hit my shoulder with his. Before he could get very far I shot my hand out, gripping his arm and ignoring his wince. 

"Why the fuck don't you like me? I haven't done anything to you." I tried to keep any hint of anger or annoyance out of my voice. He slapped my hand away, rubbing lightly at his forearm before he spoke. 

"I've been in your history class for the past two years, Wilson. You haven't noticed me before so what the fuck makes you think I'm just gonna fall at your feet because you complimented me?" His words were laced with venom and I flinched back slightly. 

"Hey man, look, I'm sorry. I just wanted to get to know you. Anyone that can actually befriend Seamus always intrigues me." I said, looking down and playing with the zip of my jacket. 

"Seamus is a hardass." Aleks spoke, eyeing me carefully but his posture relaxed slightly. "He liked me because I was insulting people in Russian in our Biology class." 

"You're Russian?! That's pretty cool." I smiled, happy to know something about the boy. 

"Yeah, I guess." He shrugged. 

"Wanna come sit with me and Seamus in the cafeteria?" I offered, wanting to spend more time with the Russian boy. 

"O-oh uh, no thanks. I have a lot of work to catch up on. Maybe next time." He stuttered. With that he turned and quickly walked away, leaving me confused in the locker rooms.


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is short!!! I'm just starting to get into the main storyline so the next chapter will probably be a bit longer!! Hope you enjoy

James' POV

"Hey James!" Joe greeted, waving his arms obnoxiously before Seamus reached over and smacked his arm. 

I smiled lightly, taking a seat next to Seamus and across from Aron. The table quickly broke out into conversation. Joe and Aron were arguing about some game that came out, Trevor was attempting to interject his own opinion but I don't think he really gave a shit. Seamus was sat beside me, his nose buried in a book as he took bites from his food every now and then. 

"You alright James? You seem a little distracted." Aron spoke up, looking at me questioningly. 

"Yeah I'm just thinking about that Aleks kid." I said, frowning slightly as I thought back to the conversation I had with the Russian in the locker room. 

"Aleks? Why're you thinking about him?" Aron asked before drinking his juice. 

"I don't know, I barely know the kid but he hates me." I folded my arms on the table, resting my head on them. 

"Yeah, Aleks fucking hates your guts man." Aron snorted, clearing having spoken to the pale Russian before. 

"Well, do you know why he hates me?" I asked, teeth clenched in annoyance. Aron shrugged, continuing to sip his juice and not answering me. 

"Why are you so hung up on Aleks not liking you? Plenty of people in this school hate you." Seamus said, not looking up from his book. 

"Wow thanks, makes me feel so much better about this." Sarcasm dripped off my words. 

"Come on James, just forget about Aleks." Joe smiled. "I'm sure he doesn't hate you!" 

I nodded dismissively, not really wanting to keep talking about this so openly. Joe understood and resumed his earlier conversation with Aron. 

The bell rang, prompting us all to start getting our things and getting to our next class. I sighed, picking up my bag and starting to walk off to my math class. A hand placed itself on my shoulder, stopping me and making me turn to look at who it was. 

"Look, if you want to find out more about Aleks just ask Eddie." Aron said, looking up at me. "He's pretty much Aleks' best friend and he's in a bunch of your classes." 

"Yeah, I will. Thanks Aron." I said. 

"Yeah, yeah. You're welcome lover boy." Aron laughed, dodging the punch I directed to his arm before he left the cafeteria. 

I walked to my class, knowing that I shared it with Eddie and even sat next to him. The whole was there my mind was filled with ways to ask Eddie about Aleks. How do I just casually bring up someone I've only just met without seeming weird? 

The class was almost full once I had gotten there. I made my way to my seat, smiling at the group of girls that waved at me and nodding my head in greeting at the familiar faces I knew. 

Eddie sat in his seat, his head ducked down to look at his phone as his fingers flew across the screen. I quietly went up to him, snatching the phone from his hand. 

"Edwin, texting in class?" I tutted, holding back a smirk. "You should know better than that." I took my seat. 

"Fuck off James." He darted forward, taking back his phone but not using it. He directed his attention to me. "How have you been?" 

"Never been better." I flashed him a smile, making him giggle. "How about you?"

"Pretty good, I missed Seamus yesterday." He pouted exaggeratedly. 

"Well he's in today, I'm shocked you haven't tracked him down by now." I teased, knowing about Eddie's crush on Seamus. 

"I would've tried to at lunch but I had to deal with some shit with my friend Aleks." He said and I immediately perked up. 

"Oh, Aleks? I was uh," I hesitated. "I was actually gonna ask you about him."

"Really?" Eddie raised an eyebrow, his lips twitching up into a slight smile. "I didn't know you two were friends."

"Well, that's the thing! He h-." I was cut off by the teacher walking in. "We'll talk later." Eddie nodded, turning to the front of the class and paying attention.

The lesson dragged on, I was actually good at math so I didn't need to pay that much attention. Eddie on the other hand was listening attentively, taking notes on the different formulas and how to use them. I could still see his phone illuminating his lap under his desk and I shook my head fondly, he was always texting someone. 

Our teacher had just finished handing out the homework sheets as the bell rang. I packed up my things and waited patiently for Eddie. We both shared the next class so we walked together. 

"So, what did you want to ask? About Aleks?" Eddie asked, smiling. 

"Yeah, I was just uh..." I stuttered. "I was just wondering why he hates me? 

Eddie hummed, acknowledging my question but not answering it immediately. 

"Aleks is a weird guy, I don't even understand him and I've known him since he transferred here." Eddie said, causing me to groan internally. Not even Aleks' best friend knows why he hates me. "I will say that Aleks has been through a lot of shit James." His voice was quiet, an oddity for someone like Eddie. 

"What do you mean?" I asked, keeping my voice low to match his tone. We had just reached our next class and were about to go in. 

"It's not my place to tell you what happened. I'm just saying, if you want to get to know him don't just string him along or drop him when things get too intense." 

With that he walked into class, taking his seat in the middle of the class and leaving me to get to mine at the back.


	3. III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy this!! I love reading comments and your thoughts on the chapters so !!! Make sure to leave some!!

Aleks' POV

I was ripped out of sleep by a sharp pain in my abdomen and head. Opening my eyes, I saw the cause of one of those. 

"You're late for school." My dad spoke, his tone monotonous and uncaring. "Clean up the beer when you get home." With that, he left my room. 

I frowned in confusion at the latter of his statements before I felt a wet patch on my sheets and finding a beer bottle that I assume he threw at me in order to wake me up. 

"Fucking asshole." I muttered, rubbing my tired eyes and looking at the time. Even if I rushed I would miss my first class of the day, so I settled for just being late to my history class. 

Having no time, I jumped into the shower and skipped on washing my hair. Once I was done, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. The bags under my eyes were incredibly prominent and they were slightly red. I quickly splashed some water on my fave to further wake me up before I got dressed in my usual baggy sweatshirt and black skinny jeans. 

I grabbed a grey beanie from my closet and walked downstairs to look for something to eat on my way to school. As always, we had no food. I rolled my eyes and settled for getting through the day on an empty stomach. 

The walk to school was rushed and made me realise how out of shape I am. Before walking through the gates I shuffled through my bag, fishing out a half empty packet of tylenol and swallowing one dry. Might as well try to get rid of this headache before I walk in. 

I walked into my history class, smiling sheepishly at my teacher and quietly apologising for being late. 

"Aleksandr, nice of you to join us. Take a seat next to James, he's your partner for this project." He said dismissively, turning back to the students he was helping before I could voice my protests. 

James was sitting right at the back of the class, the window on his left and a spare desk on his right. He smiled brightly at me and I rolled my eyes before walking to my new seat. 

"Nice to see you, buddy." James said, still smiling. 

"We aren't friends, James. What's the project about?" I asked, trying not to notice the hurt look he sent me. 

"We just have to make a presentation about one of these topics." He said, handing me a sheet of paper. I grabbed it, training my eyes on the words but not having the energy to properly read or retain what was written.

"Alright, what one do you wanna do?" I put the sheet down, rubbing my temples to try and get rid of my headache. When James didn't reply, I looked up at him in annoyance. 

"Why do you have glitter on your cheeks?" He asked, ignoring my question. My hand flew up to my right cheek, as if rubbing it would get rid of the glitter. Nothing gets rid of glitter. 

"None of your business." I grumbled. "What one do you want to do?" I asked again, pushing the paper back towards him. 

"What about this one?" He pointed to the fourth topic on the list. I picked the sheet back up and read what he pointed to. 

'Relations Between The Soviet Union And The USA During The Cold War'

"We should know a lot about that, huh?" He asked, nudging my ribs with his elbow. I bit back a wince and just settled for glaring at him, slightly edging away so he wouldn't accidentally hurt me again. 

"Whatever." I muttered. 

The bell rang and I immediately shot up, grabbed my things, and went to my next class. I didn't even realise I was that late to my class that I only attended 10 minutes of it. 

When lunch rolled around I quickly made my way to the library, wanting to get my usual seat. Before I even made it to the door, a hand grabbed my forearm and pulled me slightly. I shook my arm out of their grip and turned around to look at who it was. A tall Latino smiled down at me. 

"Eddie, what the fuck?" I asked, my hand moving to rub at my throbbing forearm but I dropped it, not wanting to alarm Eddie again. 

"You're coming into the cafeteria with me." He stated, completely sure of the fact that I wouldn't protest. 

"Very funny, I'm going to study." I moved to push past him and walk into the library but he was quicker. 

His arms looped around my waist and pulled my back to his chest. With ease, he turned my body around and picked me up, placing my body over his shoulder like a ragdoll. A girlish sound escaped my lips but I was too panicked to care. Eddie started to walk away from the library, leading us to the cafeteria and increasing my already sky high anxiety. 

"Eddie, put me down or so help me-." I started ranting but Eddie's laugh cut me off. 

"Alright, alright no need to yell at me." He placed me back down on the ground. "There you go princess." Eddie placed a kiss on my cheek, laughing at the disgusted look I had on my face. 

"Asshole." I said through gritted teeth, adjusting my beanie. "Why am I friends with you?" 

"Because you love me. Now come on, I know you hate going there but you probably haven't eaten anything today and you gotta eat or you'll die." He placed an arm around my shoulder and we started walking into the cafeteria. 

"Yep, wouldn't want to die. What a shame that'll be." I spoke sarcastically. Eddie pinched my shoulder, silently scolding me as we entered the busy room. 

I kept my head down, making sure I didn't make eye contact with anyone and draw attention to myself. 

"Hey guys!" Eddie greeted once we had reached a table. I assumed it was his usual friends and looked up to greet them and take a seat but as I raised my head, three familiar faces and two complete strangers were on the table. 

"Hey Seamus," Seamus waved a small hello back. "Hey... everyone else." I said, making a point to not say hello to James. Call me petty but I just really wanted to stay as far away from him as possible. 

"Aleks this is Joe and Trevor." He said, pointing to the two people I didn't know. "You know everyone else."

"Nice to meet you." I said, taking a seat next to Aron while Eddie stayed standing. 

"I'm gonna go get some food, you want anything Aleks?" He said and I knew he was internally screaming at me to say yes. 

"I'm good, thanks." My lips twitched up into a small smirk but I immediately got rid of it. Eddie sighed and walked off to go get his food. 

The rest of lunch went by relatively smoothly. I kept my head down and refused to eat whatever Eddie offered me from his lunch, Seamus kept reading and the rest of the table slipped into easy conversation. James kept looking over at me, a small frown on his face. I just ignored him, not bothering to be angry at him. 

My last two classes moved quickly and before I knew it, the final bell was ringing. I shot up and moved to walk out of the class but my English teacher called me back to talk about my last assignment. Being a foreign student meant I had to put in extra work for English to make sure I wasn't falling behind. 

Once that was over, I hurried through the empty hallways, praying that I hadn't missed the bus but I already knew it was long gone. I took a deep breath, calming myself down before I panicked. 

'I can't be late home. Dad will kill me if I'm even a minute later than I should be.' I thought to myself. 

"Fuck!" Someone called from close behind me. I turned around, startled, and was met with a less than desirable person. 

"You missed the bus too?" James asked, adding to my already sour mood. 

"Obviously." I mumbled, too tired to speak up. Without saying another word, I turned around and started to walk home. 

Before I could make it too far, James reached out and gripped his hand on my forearm. I smacked his hand away. What is with people these days just grabbing my damn arm?

"Don't fucking touch me." I practically hissed, annoyed at how many times people have touched me today. 

"Sorry..." James said. "I just wanted to ask if we could walk together? Maybe we can talk about the history project?" He asked hopefully. 

I nodded reluctantly, causing James to smile. We walked side by side, no words being exchanged and I cursed myself for not being able to think about anything other than James' cute smile.


	4. IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this chapter is a little short considered how long you had to wait! i hope you enjoy it either way, next chapter will come sooner!!

James' POV

The start of our walk was awkward. Aleks kept his gaze focused on the floor while my focus switched from the Russian beside me to the path in front of me. I scrambled my mind nervously, thinking of something to say that wasn't lame. Apparently, acting cool in awkward situations isn't really my forte. 

"So uh, nice weather we're having today, huh?" I said, trying (and failing) to dispel the awkward air. 

Aleks looked up me, a slightly disgusted look on his face from my attempt of starting a conversation. He looked back down and I sighed. 

"Let's try this again then. How are you, Aleks?" I asked. 

"Fine." Aleks replied simply. I rolled my eyes, cursing myself for expecting more from him. 

"Cool." I said, nodding my head slightly. "I'm good too, in case you were wondering."

"I wasn't." He objected, every word coming out of his mouth completely deadpan. I snorted, amused by his obvious annoyance. 

"So, the history project." I started, waiting a few seconds for him to respond with any idea he had. When he didn't say anything, I continued to speak. "Well, we can work on it at my house on Wednesday and Friday. Then at your hous-."

"No!" Aleks exclaimed. His head turned to face me, giving me a clear look at his wide eyes. I immediately recognised pure fear but he looked back down quickly, seemingly embarrassed at his own outburst. "My uh, my dad's super OCD about people coming over."

"That's alright man. We can just do it at my house, no worries." I stared warily at Aleks, noticing his hands fidgeting with his long sleeves. I frowned at that. It was way too hot to be wearing long sleeves, let alone be wearing a sweatshirt and a beanie. 

We walked in silence before I noticed I only had a few more streets before we reached mine. 

"You still have glitter on your face, Aleks." I said, smiling lightly. 

"For fuck sakes." He said, rubbing his cheek vigorously but quickly giving up. His rough sleeve left behind a bright red mark on his cheek. "Fucking asshole."

"Why do you have it on your face anyway?" Curiosity lined my words. He didn't seem like the type to just put glitter on his face. It could be from a party but he didn't seem like the party type. 

"My um, co-worker thought it would be fun." He faltered at the word co-worker, making me intrigued. 

"Well, try rubbing some lemon juice on it. Or a little vinegar works too." I said, informing him just before we got to my street. "I gotta go down this way. See you tomorrow."

"Wait," His hand shot out to grip my arm, holding me back. "How did you know about the lemon juice shit. Will that work or are you just trying to get me to rub acid shit on my face?"

"It works, gets rid of the glue and shit. Not sure how but it's science I guess." I smiled. "And trust me, I wouldn't do anything to ruin your pretty face Aleksandr." I shook my hand from his grip, waving a small goodbye before turning around and walking to my house. 

I threw open my door, smiling when I heard the familiar bark of my corgi, Ein. She ran up to me, her stubby legs limiting her speed and making her stumble. With a small laugh I bent down and started petting her, only stopping when she started to lick my face, covering my cheeks in her slobber. 

"You little shit." I stood up, dropping my bag and taking off my shoes before walking to the kitchen. 

I leaned against the counter, taking out my phone and messaging Eddie to ask for Aleks' number. He quickly replied, sending over the number followed by a number of suggestive emojis and his advice to 'use a condom'. I rolled my eyes, telling him to shut up before I saved Aleks' number and sent him a message. 

_James: so im not buying ur story and i have a new theory for the glitter. R u a vampire??_

I placed my phone down and walked over to my fridge, looking for something to drink before settling on a can of pepsi and grabbing myself a snack from the cupboard. My phone vibrated, immediately making me forget about my food. 

_Aleks: How the fuck did you get my number, James?_

I smiled at his message, typing out a quick response and jumping up onto the counter to take a seat. 

_James: i guessed it. youre not denying being a vampire, aleksandr_

"James? Are you home, honey?" My mom's voice rang out through the house. 

"Yeah, I'm in the kitchen." I yelled back, opening my drink and taking a sip with my eyes still glued to my screen. The three dots appeared, signifying that Aleks was typing back a message. 

"Get your ass off of my counter." My mom scolded lightly, an eyebrow raising as I looked up at her. I could still feel the smile on my face. "What's got you so happy, James?" 

I just shrugged and stayed smiling before I helped her bring in the groceries and start packing them away. The whole time I kept looking back at my phone, frowning when I saw a myriad of notifications but none of them from Aleks.


	5. V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy this!!! Thank you so much for reading!

Aleks' POV

"What are you so fucking happy about?" My dad's rough voice questioned from the doorway of the kitchen. His words were clear, showing he was somewhat sober. 

I had just wanted to grab a bottle of water and maybe try again to find some food but, as expected, the cupboards and fridge were empty. The only things inside the kitchen were various bottles of alcohol and a near empty jar of peanut butter. I got distracted by James' messages and now I'm probably fucked.

My phone rarely ever alerted me to messages so when I felt it vibrate in my pocket, I almost jumped out of my skin. I was too wrapped up in replying I didn't hear my dad coming down the stairs. 

"N-nothing." I stuttered back a reply but immediately cursed myself for doing so. I shoved my phone back into my pocket and kept my eyes on the floor as my father inspected me. 

"It's the end of the month, where's my money?" He stepped further into the room and I had to force myself not to back away from him. He hated it when I showed any sign of weakness or fear. 

"I'm going to collect it tonight." I replied, my usual monotone making an appearance again and my eyes still trained on one of the many specs of dirt littering the floor. 

I regretted not having him in my line of sight as soon as I felt a fist connect with the side of my head. I praised myself for barely making a sound, but that instantly went away as he gripped my hair and forced me to look up at him. He punched me again, his large hand hitting my left eye this time. He knew no one would ever ask any questions about any injuries I had, why would they? So he knew for a fact that he could carelessly painted my face with bruises on multiple occasions and face no repercussions. 

"How many times have I told you to get me the money before 5pm?" He asked, though it wasn't a question that he really wanted an answer to. 

He sent one punch to my stomach, causing me to involuntarily fall to my knees with my arm clutching my abdomen. I bit down at my lip, making sure I didn't make a single sound. A metallic taste hit my tongue, something I would never get used to. I stayed like that for a few minutes, hunched over on the floor with my head resting against the cold tile and my chest heaving in fear. I didn't move as my dad's footsteps sounded around the kitchen. 

Eventually, the footsteps left the kitchen and I relaxed my shoulders slightly. A door slammed shut and I took that as my cue to rush to my bedroom and grab a few necessities before I left to go to the club I work at. 

I grabbed a pair of black sunglasses to mask the bruise that was no doubt already forming on my eye. I wiped the blood off of my lip and put on the sunglasses, adjusting my beanie as I rushed back downstairs to grab my bag and start my walk to the small club I work at. 

I didn't live in the nicest of areas but I didn't mind. Eddie lived in the perfect 'cookie cutter' family neighbourhood and it always made me uncomfortable. The streets were always clean and well lit and the people there were too nice. It always made me feel out of place walking around there in my ripped up jeans and baggy sweatshirts while everyone else had expensive suits and clean dresses. 

Before I knew it, I made it to the club. The obnoxious neon signs were switched off as the club didn't open for another hour but it all still felt so familiar. 

I walked into the club through the staff entrance around the back. The place was always lit very dimly, the only real lights being used for the stage area. I made my way to the bar, allowing myself to welcome the familiarity the grimy club gave me. I spotted a head of bleached blonde hair and a smile twitched at my lips. 

"Hey SJ." I greeted, not taking off my sunglasses despite barely being able to see anything. SJ worked on the bar with me and we instantly got along. We had a similar sense of humour and if any of the customers messed with either of us, the other was there to defend 

"Hey babe." She turned around, a smile on her face. It instantly dropped when she saw my split lip and the sunglasses, which she knew were hiding the beginnings of a black eye. "Aleks..." Her voice trailed off. 

"Just, drop it please." I pleaded, ducking my head down in embarrassment. 

SJ and Eddie were the only people that knew what my dad did to me and even then I didn't actually tell them. Both of them had quickly figured it out after noticing the bruises on my face and my clear hatred for being at my house. They had both offered to help me on multiple occasions. Eddie would frequently invite me to his house, telling me that I was always welcome. I never accepted his invitations. SJ would offer to clean any wounds I had and had also made it clear that her place was open if I needed it. It was probably selfish of me to never accept their help but it was easier doing things alone. Allowing them to help would mean I trusted them and felt attachment to them. 

It was the one rule I had. Don't get attached. If you get attached it's the easiest way to be let down. 

"Alright." She frowned, leaning forward on the bar counter. Her sleek blonde hair fell over her shoulder and she brought her hand up to push it behind her ear. "Why are you here? You don't have a shift until Thursday." 

"I just have to pick up my pay for the month." I explained, taking a seat on one of the stools. 

"Oh, right!" She bent down and disappeared behind the counter, standing back up with a manila envelope in her perfectly manicured hand. "Paul isn't here today so he gave me this in case you came to collect it before your next shift."

"Thanks." I reached out and took the envelope. I couldn't legally work at this club, especially not at the bar, so I had to get paid cash in hand. It was sketchy but I didn't really care as long as I was getting some form of money. 

"Aleks?" SJ's voice broke me out of my thoughts. I looked up at her. "You know where I am if you need me."

"Y-yeah." I stuttered. I cleared my throat awkwardly, my eyes becoming misty as I saw her earnest expression. "Thank you, SJ."

"Anytime." She smiled, standing up straight. "Now, get out of here. I have a lot of set up to do and I don't need you distracting me." 

I smirked, saying my goodbyes and leaving the club. I made sure to rush home now that it was pretty dark outside. The streetlights were mostly broken, either flickering on and off every now and then or just not working at all. It made everything more eerie than it already was and I felt my heart rate slow down as I turned the corner to my house. 

Once inside, I kept as quiet as possible to listen for any signs of my dad being awake. After hearing nothing but silence, I opened the envelope. I counted out the money and furrowed my brows as I realised there was $200 more than usual. A small slip of paper was in between two of the $50 bills. I took it out, unfolding it carefully and reading the words written in blue ink. 

_'Aleks, I know you give your dad the money you earn so here's some extra that you can keep. Buy yourself a new beanie because you've worn that black one for fucking years and it's getting gross._

_Love, SJ xx'_

Tears welled up in my eyes and spilled over as I blinked. I took out the extra money and left the envelope on the kitchen counter. My dad always took my monthly pay, leaving me with the measly tips that drunk customers would leave. $200 was probably the most amount of money I ever had to my name. 

I quietly made my way to my room and hid the money in a box under my bed. A wave of exhaustion washed over me and I lay on my bed, not even getting changed before I drifted to sleep. 

************************

I stood at my locker, taking out the books I would need for the day and mentally preparing myself for the amount of weird looks I would get due to the bruises on my face. I was about to slam my locker shut when a voice called out my name. 

"Aleksandr!" I felt a pair of arms wrap around my stomach and I tried my best to ignore the sharp pain that shot through my body. 

"What do you want, Eddie?" I shoved his hands away and turned around. I kept my head lowered slightly, a pathetic attempt in trying to hide my bruises. 

"I wanted to talk to my best friend before going to class. Also James wouldn't stop talking about you s-."

"Shut up Eddie." James' voice interrupted and my head snapped up, not expecting to have seen him this early. James' face turned from a glare directed at Eddie to immediate concern as he saw me. "What the fuck happened to you?"

"N-nothing. I-I have to go." I stuttered, my hands shaking as I slammed my locker shut and hurriedly walked through the hallways. I weaved my way through students before darting into a bathroom that I knew no one ever uses. 

I shut myself into a cubicle and calmed myself down, taking deep breaths and slowly letting them out. Once my head was clearer I realised it was Wednesday, the first day that James and I would work on our project and the first day that I would be spending hours alone with him.


	6. Quick Note!!!

I'm gonna take a long break from this work, not sure when it'll be updated!! I'm working on a few other things including a possible fake chop style fic and a class of 198x type thing so yeah keep an eye out!! Thank you all so much for reading and I'm not giving up on this, just taking a short hiatus while i figure things out!


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